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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29938077">Walk me down</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hereforthehurts/pseuds/hereforthehurts'>hereforthehurts</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>it's warm, and it's home [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Based on a Tumblr Post, F/F, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Gen, Mako has PTSD, Mako-centric, Momboss and Detectiveson, Mother-Son Relationship, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, a little awkward, and he's on meds because i say so, but that's how they are, i love them sm, lin beifong adopts mako</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:22:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,573</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29938077</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hereforthehurts/pseuds/hereforthehurts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was final - Lin was getting married. With <em>Kya</em>, no less. The only problem now was that one; she doesn't know shit about weddings, and two; who in the four nations is going to walk her down the aisle?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lin Beifong &amp; Mako, Lin Beifong/Kya II</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>it's warm, and it's home [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2224380</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Walk me down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for a tumblr ask box rec !! I just. Cannot express how much I love these two &lt;3333 I originally wanted to write some whump but i decided to go against my brand wjshdjdj. Maybe soon ?? ;-)</p><p> </p><p> <a href="https://queenconsuelabananahammock.tumblr.com/post/114892896499/when-they-get-engaged-kya-asks-lin-who-she-wants">Based on this REALLY old tumblr post from 2015 &lt;3</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lin never thought that getting married was going to be <em> this </em> complicated.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Of course, she has no idea how the whole process would even go in the first place. The first wedding she’s ever gone to was Varrick and Zhu Li’s, if she was being completely honest. When Tenzin got married, she had been twenty-six, busy, and salty. When Su got married, she had been thirty, busier, and saltier. And her mother… Toph has never even been married. It’s safe to say that not only was she confused, she was also…</p><p><br/>
<br/>
Longing for it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She deserves at least <em>one </em>wedding in this messy little life of hers.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
When she told Kya about that, her soon-to-be wife was <em>beaming. </em>“I’d never thought that you’d be into that,” she smiles, “weddings.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, you know,” Lin shrugs, as if to say <em>don’t make a big deal out of it, </em>even though she knows Kya would. “I just kind of thought that I deserve it, once in a while.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, Lin,” Kya melts, tilting her head. Her soft healer hands reach for her cheek and cups them gently. “Of course you do. You deserve everything.”<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
The way Kya says it makes Lin believe her without a doubt.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Naturally, Lin knows nothing about weddings. And while Kya asked her friends about the nitty gritty bits, Lin had needed to ask someone about the… more <em> informal </em>things. The unspoken rules, the ones that they pass down from mothers to daughters when the time comes. Who’s going to tell her all that? Who’s going to be there for her?</p><p>Worse yet, <em>she’ll </em>be the one who’s going to be walking down the aisle - not Kya. “I just wanted to see <em>you </em>walk down the aisle on our day,” she had told her softly, and Lin sees it, the <em>want </em>in her eyes, the same glint she sees in herself whenever she thinks about the wedding, the life she has ahead of her.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
How is she supposed to say no to that?<br/>
<br/>
</p><p><br/>
The first person she asked about it was Suyin.<br/>
<br/>
She wasn’t her first choice, but who else was she going to ask? Her mother? Tenzin and Pema were already helping Kya with the technical jargons, and her only problem was finding the right dress and finding out how the <em>hell </em>this whole thing works. And of course, naturally, the first thing Suyin <em>had </em>to do was make a big deal out of it.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re getting <em>married?” </em><br/>
<br/>
She sighs. Okay, maybe telling her about it this way wasn’t the best choice, but it all had happened so fast, and Lin doesn’t want to wait around any longer. She <em>couldn't</em>. “Mmhm.”<br/>
<br/>
“Don’t <em>mmhm </em>me, Lin - how did I not know about this?”<br/>
<br/>
“Well now you do,” Lin mutters. “Look, I - I’m sorry. I was going to tell you sooner, but it’s just been…”<br/>
<br/>
Su’s voice softens. “Crazy?”<br/>
<br/>
She pauses. "A lot.”<br/>
<br/>
“I understand.”<br/>
<br/>
Lin sighs. “How did you… do it? Without mom?”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh. Well, I… I just <em>did</em>. I mean - well, for the record, she didn’t like Bataar very much,” Suyin chuckles, “but - she eventually got to it. And I know that she’s watching us, from where she is. That’s just… mom, you know.”<br/>
<br/>
“I know.”<br/>
<br/>
She could almost hear her little sister’s smile from hundreds of miles away. “So, Kya?”<br/>
<br/>
Lin doesn’t know how to respond to that. “Yeah. She… she wanted me to be the one who walks down the aisle.”<br/>
<br/>
“Ah,” Suyin just says. “Have you figured out who’s walking you down?”<br/>
<br/>
“<em>Who’s </em>walking me down?” Lin’s eyes widened. “Someone has to walk me <em>down?”</em><br/>
<br/>
“Well, yes,” Suyin tells her. “At my wedding, it was one of my old friends, from the pirate crew.”<br/>
<br/>
Lin scoffs. “<em>Of</em> <em>course.” </em><br/>
<br/>
“<em>Hey</em>. Lin, look -” Her sister calls softly, “I know it’s always been different for us. I mean, I used to call Aang “dad”, remember?”<br/>
<br/>
Of course she does. She remembers the first time Suyin says it, jokingly at first, following Kya’s words of calling the former Avatar “dad”. Aang was nothing but glad. Lin had disapproved of it. Toph couldn’t care less. And when Lin had accidentally said it too, one day when she was ten, she almost threw herself off a cliff. It took a long minute of Aang’s convincing for her to finally believe that he had been okay with it. More than okay, even.<br/>
<br/>
<em>If he was still here, </em>Lin’s heart aches, <em>I would have asked him to walk me down the aisle. </em><em><br/>
</em><em><br/>
</em>“And uncle Sokka?” Suyin’s voice brings her back, and Lin couldn’t help but let out a sudden laugh. “What? He was great! Me and Bumi and him used to go mess around all the time! You were just too stuck up to come with me, hanging out with your future wife instead. Your future wife and your ex boyfriend.”<br/>
<br/>
“Spirits, Su. I’m hanging up.”<br/>
<br/>
Suyin just laughs even harder. It was nice, to finally start joking around with her sister after all those years. Maybe her love for her has never really gone away after all.<br/>
<br/>
“My point is, Lin - it’s always different with us. Agni, we didn’t even know who in the four nations our fathers were. So - who <em>cares </em>about what others would think? Do it your way. Walk on your own. You’ve always been great at that.”<br/>
<br/>
“But that’s the point, Su,” Lin murmurs. “Just this time, I <em>want </em>it, someone to walk down with me. I don’t want to be alone. I just think - I deserve that much, at least.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, Lin.”</p><p>Silence. Lin could hear her sister thinking from the other end of the call.  “You know… most of the time, when the father isn’t present, it’s usually someone close who walks down with them. A son, or a close friend… it’s up to you, Lin. I’m sure one of my boys would love walking you down. And if you want me to, I can, too.”<br/>
<br/>
But Lin already has an idea. A stupid one, maybe - but one worth trying. “I - I think I do, know. Who to ask.”<br/>
<br/>
“You do?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah.” Lin felt like running. “It’s - it’s stupid, but - “<br/>
<br/>
“Lin.” Her sister cuts her off gently. “Go for it. Whoever they are, I’m sure you love them very much.”<br/>
<br/>
<em> She does. At least, she thinks she does. </em> “You’re right. <em> Spirits </em> , I said it. <em> You’re right.” </em><br/>
<br/>
Suyin laughs. “I’ll see you soon?”<br/>
<br/>
“Of course.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’ll see you then. And oh, Lin?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah?”<br/>
<br/>
“You do,” She tells her, “deserve it. <em> This </em> . You deserve everything.”<br/>
<br/>
Lin smiles when she says it. “I know.”<br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
The boy was exactly where Lin had expected him to be. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>In his desk, focusing on a stack of paperwork in front of him beneath a dim lit desk lamp. <em>He's staying</em> <em>late again, </em>an annoyed voice in her head says. There's an overwhelming need for her to make him eat and make sure he gets home safe, and Lin had gotten used to that feeling. She likes to think that maybe, everyone has a little space in the corner of their heads designed to feel care over their younger counterparts. She does, at least, even if it's only for the boy in front of her.</p><p>"Detective." </p><p>Mako jumps up from his position. "I - oh." He clears his throat. </p><p>"Staying late again?"</p><p>"Sorry, Chief."</p><p>She raises her eyebrows. "I sure do hope you're not calling me that at my wedding, Mako."</p><p>"Wedding?" </p><p>Lin internally slaps herself. Did she really forget to tell him too? How many others still doesn't know about it yet? "Oh. Well, I'm getting married, soon."</p><p>Mako sits up straighter and smiles. "Congratulations, Chief."</p><p>Lin only nods. <em> Maybe this was a bad idea. </em>"I … well, alright, then. You better tidy up and get home, detective. How many times have I told you I do not want to see you here after working hours?" </p><p>Mako smiles sheepishly. "I will, Chief."</p><p>"Dinner?" </p><p>"Bolin's cooking at home tonight." </p><p>"Good. Your meds?" </p><p>He held up his bag. </p><p>She nods in satisfaction. "Say hello to your brother for me."</p><p>"Will do."</p><p>Lin turns to walk back in her office before she physically has to stop herself in her tracks. "Mako?"</p><p>"Yes, Chief?" He frowns when she turns back around. "Is something wrong?"</p><p>"No, I just - " she stops for a moment to gather herself. "I - On my wedding, Kya wanted me to be the one who walks down the aisle."</p><p>Mako sits still, listening.</p><p>"And I… I needed someone to walk me down. I was wondering…" Lin swallows thickly, "if you would do that." </p><p>She doesn't think she's ever seen Mako's eyes get so big. He sat there for a moment, stuttering silently, before pointing at himself. "Me?"</p><p>"I - If you want to, of course. I just thought that - "</p><p>" - <em>Yes </em>," Mako stands up, a little bit too eagerly. "Yes, I - I would. Of course I - that would be - that would be an honor."</p><p>She feels relief flooding into her, warmth spreading in her chest. Lin finds a smile tugging up the corner of her mouth. "Well, then I… you better get going now, Mako." </p><p>Mako grins back. "Thank you. For choosing me." It looks like he had a lot more to say to her, but he doesn't. Maybe later. Maybe soon. "Well, I - I'll see you then," he hesitates for a moment, "Lin." </p><p>Lim nodded, reaching for his shoulder before squeezing them gently. "I'll see you then," she smiles fondly, "son."</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><a href="https://hereforthehurts.tumblr.com/">my tumblr blog !!</a> (requests/ko-fi open !!)</p><p>( Ps: naturally i also have to cram in the information that the song that's going to be playing on the wedding for the casual dance is loving is easy by rex orange county ;-] )</p></blockquote></div></div>
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